Rachel Leviss Watching New 'Vanderpump Rules' Season To See How She's Portrayed

Rachel Leviss plans to keep tabs on the new season of "Vanderpump Rules" ... not 'cause she's a fan, but more so ... because she wants to see how they're gonna talk about her.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Rachel will, in fact, be tuning in to watch the season 11 premiere Tuesday night -- not just that, but we're told she'll actually keep up with the show as it rolls along in the coming months without her.

We're told Rachel intends to use her iHeartRadio podcast, "Rachel Goes Rogue," as a platform to respond to how she is mentioned and portrayed on 'VPR' ... depending on what is said, and if she feels she needs to set the record straight.

Rachel's not alone here, BTW ... 'VPR' fans are very much interested in how Tom Sandoval, Ariana Madix and the rest of the cast deal with her abrupt exit following the Scandoval, which went down at the end of last season.

Remember ... Rachel and Tom got dragged across the coals at the reunion. As part of the affair fallout, Rachel went off to a mental health facility in Arizona and ultimately decided to leave the Bravo reality show.

Now, while Rachel will be talking 'VPR' on her podcast from time to time, our sources are adamant it's NOT going to turn into some general, weekly recap of the world she left behind.

Fact is ... Rachel's podcast is doing very well on its own already, so she doesn't need 'Vanderpump' to keep it relevant. She will, however, chime in as she sees fit.

Rachel normally spends most of her time on the podcast talking about her mental health journey and the impact the show, its cast and the Scandoval had on her ... and we're told the reception has been strong and 'RGR' hovers around the top of various podcast rankings.